I am an avowed sympathizer of the Occupy movement. Some people question it's coherence and challenge its lack of clear objectives. Fair enough criticism, but I'm quite clear about it. The income gap between rich and poor is widening, and the super rich are becoming richer by orders of magnitude, while the middle class stagnate and fall behind Foreclosures, upside-down mortgages, and student debt prohibit decent hard-working people from getting ahead, but these ills were in many ways created by the large financial institutions that are reaping record profit, with the managers of said institutions rewarded with massive bonuses. And all the while, fiscal policy is structured to save, if not reward, these structures. That is the 1%, and the rest is the 99%. The tail is wagging the dog.
The Occupy DC site is in McPherson Square in view of the White House, and about 3 blocks from my office. Over the last month, I've made it a point to use the Metro exit that allows me to walk past and through the tent city. I've enjoyed watching it grow and take shape. It now consists of about one hundred tents - residential sites - pretty much right next to each other in the center and southwest of the square. The northwest section has grown to become a community hub, complete with medical tent, kitchen, community library, media tent (with solar panels and generator) and message boards. The south end of the square seems to be loosely organized around social and community affairs - frisbee playing, spontaneous (or not) musical performances, and a meeting area. Urban planners could not have done better - and this
Washington Post article makes some interesting organizing and planning observations around that.
Who says they're not organized? Check this out!
DAILY SCHEDULE
11:00 [S
cribble unclear] Outreach 102
12:00 pm Political education discussion
12:30 p.m Announcements
2pm De-escalation training
5:00pm Newcomer orientation
5pm Roots of the Crisis Workshop
6:00pm General Assembly
8:00pm Committee Meetings
NEEDS
juice
cooking oil
PLATES
Water
Round table for library
Sleeping bags
Tents
Giant coffeepot
This photo shows the library about 2 weeks ago, back when the request was out for a round table. I passed by again today, and I wish I got a picture. The library tent is gorgeous, complete with a round table, about four to six chairs, and at least four bookshelves brimming with over 800 books.
Other organic and spontaneous community innovations have taken root. There is a "Human Mic," where when announcements are made. A person says "Mic," and three to six people around him (or her) echo "Mic" and the announcements proceed from there - a natural human amplification of sound.
And while I haven't fully figured out the kitchen, here's
a WaPo article about cooking 3 meals a day every day for 100 to 200 protesters with volunteer labor, and donated foodstuffs. There's also a steady supply of donated prepared foods - burgers from Five Guys (it's not clear whether the store donated or a citizen sympathizer bought and donated), day-old pastries from the Starbucks across the street, and Cherry Garcia ice cream served by Ben and Jerry themselves earlier this week.
This year, we witnessed an Arab Spring, in which long-standing, firmly entrenched and protected government structures were toppled from a more or less spontaneous uprising of civil society. No one would have bet on it a month earlier.
I have no idea was the Occupy movement will bring. I am disheartened, disappointed, and disillusioned by heavy-handed confrontations by police on Occupy protests in Oakland and Atlanta. The Occupy message and the objectives are not concise; and discredited because those messages are expressed by a relatively disparate group of fringe progressives. Winter is coming. Attention wanes or gets diverted by Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, and Joe Paterno. Yet still I remain impressed with Occupy DC's stamina, growth, and organic organization. Thus far, there has been minimal police intervention and confrontation in DC. I'm pleased for both the protesters and the police. Occupy movements in other cities continue to form and grow. They just may be another American Revolution ahead of us.
